It appears that his agent, David Unger, is holding out for more money. In January, the news broke that Marvel had offered the award-winning “Wrestler” star just €200,000 to play a villain in the sequel. Perhaps further negotiations didn’t go so well? Also, Rourke is now firmly attached to star in Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables, which starts shooting shortly and might interfere with the Iron Man 2 shoot.

Rourke was also due to participate in the upcoming WrestleMania 25, but that was cancelled because his publicist worried that it might hurt his Oscar chances. Rourke said he’ll still be there, just not in the ring: “We’re gonna go in support. Vince McMahon, Roddy Piper, and Rick Flair have been such a part of the movie … So whatever support I can give back to all those people from WWE, I’m gonna do that.”

It is thought that the same tactics from Marvel have already prompted Samuel L. Jackson to swear off playing Nick Fury because of a similarly low offer.